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While looking for a diet to give to your dog, Blue Buffalo is amongst the top on the best-buy list. The pet food provider offers tons of great recipes that they claim to be 100% natural and healthy. As we check the truthiness in these claims, we want to compare the “regular” Blue Buffalo vs Blue Wilderness and see which is better.
Both are spectacular dog food brands, for sure. But each of them features a different formulation that targets specific needs. This is so as every dog has his attributes that absorb nutrients differently.
If it’s the German Shepherd, for instance, his overall build requires that you offer him diets rich in protein and carbs. Not that other dogs don’t need the two in abundance. But because large breed dogs need to get enough amino acids for muscle development and energy to support their active lifestyle.
Blue Buffalo: About the Company
While every company has a sweet story behind its founding, Blue Buffalo Co., Ltd. is the opposite. The pet food brand debuted through the efforts of the Bishop family, who were hoping to find a better means to care for their ailing Airedale. More about blue buffalo dog food reviews.
Blue, as the dog was called, was suffering from cancer, which took a heavy toll on the family. All the simple things other dogs take pleasure doing seemed like a burden to him. This prompted Bill Bishop and his family to take a serious interest in the pet health issues and their management.
They started to research on the dog food on the market, hoping to find some answers to their predicaments.
Although it’s unclear what the Bishops came to find out, what followed was the start of their own pet food company.
Intending to work differently from the other providers, they began making their own food for dogs and cats. They didn’t want to create anything that will compromise your pet’s wellbeing. So, they only went for the finest, healthy ingredients.
The group even introduced a leading animal nutritionist and a holistic vet to their team. This would help ensure that their food formulas are per the standard that your healthy or sick pooch can use without any effect.
After operating for about 16 years as a family-owned business, the Blue Company decided to transition and expand their operations. They transferred the ownership to the General mills [in 2018], who will help them get to more pet owners.
Relationship between the Blue Buffalo and Blue Wilderness
As a brand, the Blue Buffalo aims at supporting every dog breed, from any life stage. As such, the pet food brand has a wide array of recipes that they have set in about seven different categories. These categories include Blue Basics, Blue Freedom, Blue Life Protection Formula, Blue Carnivora, Blue Natural Veterinary Diet, Blue Wilderness, and Blue True Solutions.
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So, in case you had started to think otherwise, the Blue Wilderness is a food brand from the Blue Buffalo Company. Unlike the rest, however, the dog food line tends to have a higher amount of protein content, plus it’s grain-free. This comes as it tries to imitate what the wolves eat in the wild. And that is mainly meat.
Comparing the Regular Blue Buffalo to Blue Wilderness Dog Food
Ingredient Quality
As we have just stated, the Blue Wilderness is a product line from the Blue Buffalo. Compared with another dog food category, such as the Blue Life protection, however, the wild-inspired diet is high on protein levels.
Therefore, the maker focus on real meat as the main ingredient and the source of protein. The meat comes from highly digestible and delicious natural sources, including Bison, venison, Tuna, quail, salmon chicken, turkey, amongst others.
So as not to compromise the quality of these healthy food compounds, the glorious pet food company avoid all synthetic chemicals. Not just in the Blue Wilderness but also in the standard Blue Buffalo recipes.
If it’s to enhance the food’s taste, for instance, the brand uses Rosemary, Parsley, and other natural flavors. The diet also contains compounds like citric acid or Mixed Tocopherols to help maintain the freshness and extend the shelf-life.
Also, both the standard Blue Buffalo diets and the Blue Wilderness do have the exclusive Lifesource Bits that comprise antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Formulated by the brand’s team of holistic veterinarians and animal nutritionists, the blend of the three works on supporting a healthy immune system. Thereby, enabling your dog to fight off disease-causing bacteria and maintain his overall health.
Guaranteed Analysis
Usually, AAFCO [The Association of American Feed Control Officials] requires every pet food to have a list of its guaranteed analysis. As the buyer and pet owner, this list will act as a guide to advise you on the nutrients contained in the particular dog food.
According to the requirements, the guarantee has to have the minimum percentages of crude protein and crude fat. Plus a maximum percentage of crude fiber and moisture. The four are the most crucial, but listing the other contained nutrients can also enlighten the buyer on which other benefits to expect.
When comparing Blue Buffalo vs Blue Wilderness for guaranteed analysis, the latter tends to have a higher percentage in crude protein. For the buyer, this means the contained recipes can play a great role in the growth and development of your dog’s body.
Product Safety:
No matter how hard you try, we can’t always be perfect. Even with the Blue Company, they have had a few drawbacks that have affected several of their product lines. Some of these issues have been so nasty that the pet food brand had to retract some of their products already on the market.
As a model, the brand recalled some packages of the Blue Wilderness and Blue Life Protection dry dog food in the year 2010. This came after they realized the two diets have too much vitamin D, which can lead to poisoning symptoms like vomiting.
Five years later, the brand came to realize another of their products, Cub size Wilderness Wild Chews Bones, had salmonella contamination. Again, they called out to the pet owners who had already purchased the particular nutrition and asked them to refrain from giving their dogs.
Although they accepted the responsibility in both instances, there is a possibility the Blue Buffalo did not know any of it. The company does outsource some of the manufacturing works to partners such as ANI/Vita-Line, Ainsworth, CJ Foods, and Triple T Foods. And, of course, any of the partners can get jaded and take a shortcut.
But anyway, the American brand accepted accountability and gave their consumers a reason to trust them more.
Cost
When it now comes to accessibility, there’s quite a difference between Blue Buffalo vs Blue Wilderness. The products come at varying prices, with some [like the Life Protection formula] being high and others having a moderate one.
Nonetheless, the Blue company hopes to reach as many pet owners as possible. As such, they usually pack each nutrition in varying sizes, including 4 – 6lb, 10 – 15lb, and 20 – 30lb. So, no matter what your budget is, you can always get a bag of healthy Blue Buffalo dog food. This includes all the standard recipes, as well as the Wilderness formulas.
The Two Best Blue Buffalo Dog Food Recipes
Buffalo Wilderness recipe with Natural Chicken Flavor
Overall, the whole of the Blue wilderness category is a favorite to many. With this chicken recipe, though, its outstanding taste and effectiveness have left thousands of users talking about it.
Real chicken is the main ingredient and source of protein. So, with proper exercises, your canine will have a very good boost for lean muscle mass. The animal protein works alongside peas, which are not only rich in proteins but also has fiber and starch.
As such, your dog will always have enough energy to support every-time hunger and his active lifestyle.
In case your dog is struggling with a rough, dull coat, this Blue diet has excellent Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. It even contains carrots, blueberries, and cranberries that are usually rich in vitamins and antioxidant properties. Hence, guaranteeing your dog a strong and robust immune system.
Key Features:
- The dog food is highly nutritious and delicious
- It’s rich in protein to support proper development of muscles, tissues, and bones
- Has excellent sources of carbs, like peas and sweet potatoes, for energy
- Features hardworking antioxidants to support your dog’s immune system health
- Includes the exclusive LifeSource Bits to support the overall wellness of your dog
- It’s entirely grain-free to prevent an allergic reaction in your dog with sensitivity to wheat or corn.
- Has the essential omega fatty acids [from flaxseed and fish meal] to support healthy skin and clean coat
- Dry dog food contains no artificial preservatives, flavors, or colors.
Cons
- The dog kibble has a high amount of protein, which can increase the chances of obesity in your dog.
Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula – Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe
This is yet another of the bestsellers from the Blue Buffalo. The diet primarily focuses on safeguarding the health of your Adult dog. Be it the tiny Toy Maltese or the giant English Mastiff.
Therefore, it has a significant amount of vitamins and antioxidants to boost the immune system’s health and help your pet fight off disease.
Even so, dry dog food has real meat as the main ingredient and source of protein. The meat comes from deboned chicken, which is remarkably delicious and highly digestible.
For an exercising canine, the dog food is rich in starch and fiber from the contained brown rice, barley, and potatoes. As such, your pet will remain with full energy throughout the entire training, as well as the rest of the day.
In order to avoid contaminating its rich quality, the Blue diet only contains natural preservatives from Mixed Tocopherols and Rosemary. Plus vegetable juice for color and garlic for flavor.
Key Features:
- The dog meal is rich in protein to support the development of lean muscles, tissues, and hormones
- It gives your dog plentiful of antioxidants and vitamins to boost his health
- Has sources of Glucosamine to maintain healthy and strong bones
- The diet is rich in carbs to offer high levels of energy
- Features flaxseed to promote healthy skin and coat.
- The dry dog food only have natural flavors and color from sources like garlic, vegetable juice, chicken
Cons:
- The Blue chicken recipe is not recommended for a dog sensitive to Barley, rice, or oats.
FAQ
Is Blue Wilderness a good dog food?
Generally, the Blue Wilderness is a great diet for your dog. It has high levels of proteins, which can be very helpful for a growing dog and also for one trying to build some muscles.
Also, the diet comes in several different flavors. Hence, offering you an option to pick that your dog loves most.
Is Blue Buffalo better than Purina?
Irrespective of the fact that they are the most rivals, Purina is better than the Blue Buffalo in several ways. For one, Purina dog food lines have higher protein content than the Blue Buffalo recipes [except Wilderness category].
Also, the former is quite affordable, with its products selling at about half the price of their counterparts.
Why is Blue Buffalo so expensive?
The high retail price of the Blue Buffalo products can be due to a number of aspects. For one, the brand includes meat in every of their dog food formula. And as you know, meat is often expensive.
Secondly, Blue Buffalo doesn’t do all the manufacturing on their own. They outsource some of the industrial processes to other food companies, and that can lead to a high cost of production. Thereby, forcing them to increase the retail prices of their products.
Conclusion
For a pet owner who is hoping to improve or maintain the health of his dog, choose the right brand of food is very crucial. It means a lot to your dog’s wellness and his living days.
Although we have seen they’re not always perfect, the Blue Buffalo is a remarkable brand to follow. As for the mission, they are solely dedicated to promoting a healthy lifestyle of your dog. And that is something we can see on the nature of ingredients that they use.
Of course, there’s a slight difference between the regular Blue Buffalo vs Blue Wilderness diets. But in all, the pet food provider relies on sources like chicken, turkey, salmon, bison, and even rosemary. All these are items we, humans, use on our lunch and supper meals every day. So, it’s hard for your dog to develop complications from consuming some kibble with them.
Even so, Blue dog food recipes tend to cost more than some of the other pet food companies. But considering you can afford junks from KFC or McDonald’s daily, why find it hard to buy your dog premium nutrition.
